The present invention relates to a new and distinctive oat cultivar, designated Romar-07 The term “oat” is applied to various grassy crops whose seeds are harvested for human food or animal feed.
Oats are a cool-season cereal grain that are highly preferred by deer. During the first months of growth, typical oat varieties are high in protein (14% to 18% protein) and easily digestible. In most cases, deer prefer oats over the other cereal grains. Oats are most often used in fall-planted hunting plots to attract deer.
Oats include ten to fifteen species in genera Avena. Oats are native to Europe, Asia and northwest Africa. All oats have edible seeds, though they are small and hard to harvest in most species. The most important cultivated species of oats are common oat (Avena sativa), Abyssinian oat (Avena abyssinica), naked or hullless oats (Avena nuda), and lopsided oat (Avena strigosa).
The present invention relates to Avena sativa, commonly known as common oat. Avena sativa has many varietal types, including variety type Avena sativa var. Bob which is recognized as having a higher yield than either parent, heavier test weight, better crown rust resistance, shorter plant height, higher protein yield, and intermediate winter hardiness.
There are numerous steps in the development of any novel, desirable plant germplasm. Plant breeding begins with the analysis and definition of problems and weaknesses of the current germplasm, the establishment of program goals, and the definition of specific breeding objectives. The next step is selection of germplasm that possess the traits to meet the program goals. The goal is to combine in a single variety an improved combination of desirable traits from the parental germplasm. These important traits may include higher seed yield, resistance to diseases and insects, better stems and roots, tolerance to low temperatures, and better agronomic characteristics on grain quality.
Choice of breeding or selection methods depends on the mode of plant reproduction, the heritability of the trait(s) being improved, and the type of cultivar used commercially (e.g., F1 hybrid cultivar, pureline cultivar, etc.). For highly heritable traits, a choice of superior individual plants evaluated at a single location will be effective, whereas for traits with low heritability, selection should be based on mean values obtained from replicated evaluations of families of related plants. Popular selection methods commonly include pedigree selection, modified pedigree selection, mass selection, and recurrent selection, or a combination of these methods.
The complexity of inheritance influences choice of the breeding method. Various recurrent selection techniques were used to improve quantitatively inherited traits controlled by numerous genes. The use of recurrent selection in self-pollinating crops depends on the ease of pollination, the frequency of successful hybrids from each pollination, and the number of hybrid offspring from each successful cross.
Each breeding program should include a periodic, objective evaluation of the efficiency of the breeding procedure. Evaluation criteria vary depending on the goal and objectives, overall value of the advanced breeding lines, and number of successful cultivars produced per unit of input.
Promising advanced breeding lines are tested and compared to appropriate standards in environments representative of the target area. The best lines are candidates for new commercial cultivars; those still deficient in a few traits may be used as parents to produce new populations for further selection.
Development of new cultivars is a time-consuming process that requires precise forward planning, efficient use of resources, and a minimum of changes in direction.
One method of identifying a superior plant is to observe its performance relative to other cultivars. If a single observation is inconclusive, replicated observations provide a better estimate of its genetic worth.
The goal of plant breeding is to develop new, unique and superior oat cultivars and hybrids. The breeder initially selects and crosses two or more parental lines, followed by self-pollination and selection, producing many new genetic combinations. The breeder has no direct control at the cellular level; therefore, two breeders will not develop the same line, or even very similar lines, having the exact same traits.
The cultivars which are developed are unpredictable. This unpredictability is because the breeder's selection occurs in unique environments, with no control at the DNA level (using conventional breeding procedures), and with millions of different possible genetic combinations being generated. A breeder of ordinary skill in the art cannot predict the final resulting lines he develops, except possibly in a very gross and general fashion. The same breeder cannot produce the same cultivar twice by using the exact same original parents and the same selection techniques. This unpredictability results in the expenditure of large amounts of research monies to develop superior new oat cultivars.
Pedigree breeding is used commonly for the improvement of self-pollinating crops. Two parents which possess favorable, complementary traits are crossed to produce an F1. An F2 population is produced by selfing one or several F1's. Selection of the best individuals may begin in the F2 population; then, beginning in the F3, the best individuals in the best families are selected. Replicated testing of families can begin in the F4 generation to improve the effectiveness of selection for traits with low heritability. At an advanced stage of inbreeding (i.e., F6 and F7), the best lines or mixtures of phenotypically similar lines are tested for potential release as new cultivars.
Mass and recurrent selections can be used to improve populations of either self- or cross-pollinating crops. A genetically variable population of heterozygous individuals is either identified or created by intercrossing several different parents. The best plants are selected based on individual superiority, outstanding progeny, or excellent combining ability. The selected plants are intercrossed to produce a new population in which further cycles of selection are continued.
In a multiple-seed procedure, oat breeders commonly harvest one or more seeds from each plant in a population and thresh them together to form a bulk. Part of the bulk is used to plant the next generation and part is put in reserve. The procedure has been referred to as modified single-seed descent or the pod-bulk technique.
The multiple-seed procedure has been used to save labor at harvest. It is considerably faster to thresh panicles with a machine than to remove one seed from each by hand for the single-seed procedure. The multiple-seed procedure also makes it possible to plant the same number of seeds of a population each generation of inbreeding. Enough seeds are harvested to make up for those plants that did not germinate or produce seed.
Proper testing should detect any major faults and establish the level of superiority or improvement over current cultivars. In addition to showing superior performance, there must be a demand for a new cultivar that is compatible with industry standards or which creates a new market. The introduction of a new cultivar will incur additional costs to the seed producer, the grower, processor and consumer; for special advertising and marketing, altered seed and commercial production practices, and new product utilization. The testing preceding release of a new cultivar should take into consideration research and development costs as well as technical superiority of the final cultivar. For seed-propagated cultivars, it must be feasible to produce seed easily and economically.